Thunder-Cavs battle causes positive change in NBA ratings

Cleveland Cavs’ and Oklahoma City ThunderThe showdown between NBA supremacy did not disappoint in terms of ratings. NBA fans on social media responded to the matchupwhich ended Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak, while Cleveland extended it to 11 with a 129-122 win.

Grades pointed up to 20% per X NBA Communications, formerly Twitter.

“Wednesday night’s highly anticipated OKC-CLE game averaged 1.87 million viewers on ESPN, up +20% year-over-year.” The game peaked with 2.5 million viewers. A back-and-forth contest that featured 30 lead changes set it off Cleveland Cavaliers on the #1 trending topic worldwide on X during the game,” the NBA reported.

Wednesday’s game was a highly entertaining affair between the Cavs and Thunder. Twelve Cavs and Thunder players scored in double figures, including Jarrett Allen (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (21 points, 10 rebounds), leading Cleveland’s seven to Oklahoma City’s five.

Thunder All Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 31 points. Jaylen Williams added 25 points and nine assists, Isaiah Hartenstein flirted with a triple-double (18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists), and Cason Wallace scored 15 points.

After a dip in NBA viewership at the start of the regular season, it has surged in the past month. According to Nielsen, The NBA averaged 5,335,000 viewers on Christmas Dayan 87% jump from 2024. It was also ESPN’s most-watched Christmas of 2019 (with an average of 5,337,000 viewers).

Brian Windhorst makes a bold claim for the 2024-25 NBA Finals for the Cavs

Will 2024-25 be the campaign that sees the Cleveland Cavs return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2018? After underestimating last year’s team, ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst admits the Cavs have turned him into a believer after their dominant regular season.

Windhorst says the Cavs did talented enough to win the title, according to ESPN Cleveland’s 5 good minutes with Windy.

“This team can win four rounds of the playoffs,” Windhorst said.

The Cavs’ stacked roster gives them the best chance to compete for a title than we’ve seen in nearly a decade. The depth of their team has elevated Cavs into the upper echelon of the NBA, according to Windhorst on ESPN’s First Take.

“This was a group that I admit, I thought they couldn’t work together after last season, I said they were failing.” “They might have to think about breaking them up,” Windhorst said. “(But) the way the Cavs play, anybody who steps on the floor can hit a 3-pointer and the way they move the ball is reminiscent of the way the Warriors played when they first went on a run.”

The Cavs extended their winning streak to 12 with a 132-126 win over the Raptors.